EDITORIAL: Oregon draft transportation plan calls for a tripling of taxes

The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·2 min read
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May 9—There's the way the Oregon Department of Transportation thinks about Oregon's transportation future and then there's the way you think about Oregon's transportation future.

We are not saying you will differ. You might.

For instance, Oregon drivers now pay 38 cents a gallon in gas tax, a new state report says. If you assume 20 miles per gallon, that's roughly 2 cents a mile.

ODOT says to pay for the "only investment level that addresses the many needs of the transportation system" Oregon drivers would need to pay closer to $1.14 per gallon, or 7.6 cents per mile.

Notice it says the only investment level. It doesn't say wants. It says "needs." It's calling for more than a tripling of what Oregonians pay per mile to get where they need or want to go. It does later go on to give other options, at least.

That is one section of the draft Oregon Transportation Plan. It's the document that establishes the vision guiding investments for the next 20 years for state, regional and local governments.

ODOT is finalizing it now. You can comment on it through May 12.

There's a lot you might agree with in the plan. There's an emphasis on improving safety, improving livability. There's deep concern for equity and the environment — and just ensuring goods and people can get where they need to go. And as it says, there is a need for Oregon to transform from a system that funds transportation primarily through a gas tax to something like a mileage tax.

But we'd also bet that you may think the plan goes too far or not far enough in other ways.

A recurring phrase in the plan is "Reduce the per capita VMT for passenger vehicles."

VMT is vehicle miles traveled. One of the goals of this transportation plan is for people to use passenger cars less.

In fact, the message in the plan is before adding any new capacity for motor vehicles, there needs to be an assessment first if there is not some other answer. Might be buses. Might be more information about alternatives. Might be more ride sharing. Might be tolling, charging for parking, the report says.

Oregon government has this in mind for how you will get around. You can either comment now on the draft or just wait for it to come down the road to you.

You can find out more here: tinyurl.com/ODOTdraftplan. They even have a quiz for you to take about the draft plan that we bet you could pass without reading a page. Take the quiz here: www.exploreotp.com.